Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 2.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 57.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Stewart Information Services by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 7.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,410 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total transaction of $876,196.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,370.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:STC opened at $75.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 1-year low of $38.40 and a 1-year high of $76.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.01 and a beta of 1.20.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.13). Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 5.16%. The firm had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $597.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is a positive change from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 125.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance and real estate transaction related services in the United States and internationally. The company involves in searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property. It also offers home and personal insurance services; services for tax-deferred exchanges; and digital customer engagement platform services.